by Dan Adkisson
Hockey is one of the most popular games all over the world. As much as it is a team sport, there is considerable excitement with the individual greats as well. Hockey fans ardently watch their matches, follow records — and of course — in a more exciting note, wager on them and their winnings as well. You can easily check out the lists of sportsbooks available on Meta Reviews.
Recently, there was some breakthrough sports news overseas, as Czech Hockey player David Pastrnak, who plays for the Boston Bruins, won the Golden Hockey Stick. This makes him the Czech Player of the Year, surpassing the record of Jaromir Jagr; the previous NHL forward who smashed many records of his own. Incredibly enough, this is Pasternak’s fifth straight Golden Hockey Stick award.
Originally hailing from Havirov, Czech Republic, Pastrnak is 25 years old and has now tied Dominik Hasek, the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie who also won five Golden Hockey Sticks during his long career. Reaching this achievement likely brings great satisfaction and prestige for Pasternak, as well as extreme excitement for his legion of fans. Pasternak is now only second to Jagr, who has won a total of 12 Golden Hockey Stick awards to date. With the help of 20 goals and 28 assists, Pastrnak totalled 48 points in the 48 games he played during the 2021 NHL season.
Even more so, Pastrnak obtained the maximum number of votes, totaling 492. Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning forward, came in a close second, just ten votes less than Pasternak. David Krejci, with a total of 338 votes, came in third in the voting. Krejci, who was the 2013 award winner, has played 15 seasons in the NHL and will be playing in the Czech Republic coming up next season. He’s had 11 finishes in the top 10 since the award first debuted in 1969, sitting behind only Jagr and Hasek. Votes are cast by hockey coaches, as well as sports journalists all over the Czech Republic who belong to various levels and tiers of competition.
Pastrnak was selected by the Bruins at the 2014 NHL Draft and was given jersey No. 25. Since then, he has scored 427 points, with 200 goals and 227 assists, in 438 regular-season games. He’s also scored 68 points with 27 goals and 41 assists in 63 NHL Stanley Cup playoff games. This includes 15 points this past season, where he recorded 7 goals and 8 assists in the course of 11 playoff games — a run that ultimately ended when the New York Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the second round.
Pastrnak will next challenge the legacy of Jagr, who will be playing for his own team and had won the prestigious award four times consecutively, between 2005 and 2008.
